Has it been a year already? For those of you that were previously unaware of this, last year I was at the FIFA World Cup in Japan, bringing you daily reports of the goings on at this tournament, and I returned to the UK somewhat enamoured with it all. Now, I know that popular opinion in Europe is that the World Club Cup ranks in peoples affections somewhere between the Johnstones Paint Trophy and the FA Vase, but this evening I’m going to state the case for defence. As I will go on to explain in greater detail later on, there are plenty of things that are wrong with the World Club Cup and, in order to give the competition some of the respectability that one somewhat feels that FIFA try rather too hard to give it, certain major changes it is structure are necessary, rather than merely desired. However, there is plenty look forward to in this tournament – almost certainly more so than you might think. Here are five reasons why you too should learn to love the runt of FIFA’s litter. 1. A Grand Old History – The current tournament format of the World Club Cup is only a few years old, but it is the spiritual heir to the Intercontinental Cup, which was for a while the most violent tournament on earth. The creation of...